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WRITING YOUR INITIAL REPORT
Once you have had two Owner Review's accepted, and your tester
agreement is on file, you will be eligible to apply for testing gear.
After you apply, you will be notified via email
if you are selected to test a piece of gear. If you have been
selected, you will be asked to send requested information to the test
Moderator. Once you receive your gear, you must post an arrival notice
to backpackgeartesters@yahoogroups.com stating the name of the item, date of arrival and your full name.
You
have one week (seven days) from date of arrival to post your Initial Report.
Your report needs to include the
following information:
Name of item being tested prominently at the top of the page, followed
by ‘Initial Report' and the date.
Example:
Smith Company Top of the Line Tent
Initial Report
January 1, 2006
The date should be in this form, rather than (for
example) 1/1/2006, as the order of month and date are not
internationally uniform. Do be sure that you have the equipment name
listed in the exact form that is used on the manufacturer website or in
their literature. As in the example above, please include in the report
title the type of gear under report (in this case, tent).
Personal biographical information:
- Name
- Age
- Gender
- Height – include metric/imperial conversions
See conversion table at: http://www.backpackgeartest.org/convert.html
At the bottom of that page is important information
regarding
measurements, their abbreviations, standards for rounding off numbers,
etc. See the
rules
- Weight – example: 5'7" (1.7 m) (see
above)
- Email address (need not be clickable) You may use
this format: jdoeATyourispDOTcom or
jdoe(at)yourisp(dot)com
- City (or region), state, and country where you live
Backpacking Background:
- Typical weight carried, packing style (ultra light - heavy
weight)
- pace, area covered, terrain
- tent, hammock, tarp?
- Special activities while outdoors
- 100 word limit – link to
"Writing a Brief
Biography"
Product information:
- Manufacturer
- Year of manufacture *
- URL of top level
manufacturer web site (not the item at the site, and only use the
manufacturer's URL)
- Manufacturer's listed measurements, if
pertinent to report*
- Actual measurements
- Listed weight*
- Weight as
delivered - Many testers use an accurate kitchen scale or a
postal scale.
- Manufacturer's
Suggested Retail Price (MSRP from web site). e.g. $250 US *
*If this information isn't available on the
manufacturer's website, please indicate that.
You will also need to include a written
description of the item you are
reviewing. This would include such information as; texture,
color, fit and any features of the item. Also address any
peripheral items included with item (tent-stakes, etc.), directions included
with product - are they easy to follow and accurate, etc.
Is the product
what you expected, in relation to the information provided on the
manufacturer's website? Are there any features you notice, that
weren't mentioned? Are there any construction flaws that are
apparent? Does having the gear in hand provide any other areas
to test?
Field information
When and where will you be testing the gear?
- Location or locations where you propose to test the gear
- Description of location (mountains, elevation, terrain, etc.)
- Typical weather conditions expected (temperature, precipitation, etc.)
- Style of hiking you plan to do during the test (lightweight, tent vs. tarp, etc.)
Test plan or strategy
How will you be testing the gear?
A short test plan should be included
in the Initial Report. This test plan should describe how you plan to
test the item. It should also include a brief description of the
location (include type) and duration of any trips you plan on taking.
Pictures are
required as part of the Initial Report. If you are unable to take
your own photos, you may use one from the manufacturer's website.
Please remember to give credit to the manufacturer.
Pictures may not be over 100 kg, and require alternate text tags.
POSTING AND UPLOADING YOUR
REPORT
Once you have completed your Initial Report, you should mail it to
backpackgeartesters@yahoogroups.com. In the subject line, include
'INITIAL REPORT', <item name>, <your name>. You must also post the HTML version
to the test folder on the BackpackGearTest.org website. Check your links, and make sure your report looks like it
should. You will receive an edit from the test monitor. Once you take
care of the edits, post it to the appropriate
folder on
http://www.backpackgeartest.org.
It is not necessary to repost your edited report to the list. A notice will only go out when a
report is posted to the final folder.
If you have any questions, please ask your test monitor or moderator.
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